Cross Country hosts GLVC

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ALEXANDRIA, Ky. – Tracy Carskadon set a Northern Kentucky University record in the six-kilometer run with a time of 22:45 and led the Norse women’s cross country team to a fifth-place finish at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships at A.J. Jolly Park on Saturday.

Carskadon placed fifth individually to earn All-GLVC honors for the second straight year, and she broke the NKU record in the six-kilometer run (held by Anna Moore) by 26 seconds. Rachel Stoehr posted a 16th-place finish with a time of 23:47 as the Norse took fifth place in the team standings for the second consecutive season.

“Tracy ran very well, and this was an extremely competitive race,” NKU head coach Steve Kruse said. “There were some outstanding teams, and we competed very well in this race.”

NKU’s Julianne Hoekzema placed 24th with a time of 24:19, while Sarah Eggleston was 37th at 25:14.

The University of Wisconsin-Parkside captured the team title with 47 points. The University of Southern Indiana was second with 60 points, followed by Bellarmine University (65 points), the University of Indianapolis (96 points) and NKU (125).

“Wisconsin-Parkside ran a great race, and it was actually an upset that Southern Indiana didn’t win, because going in I thought they were the team to beat,” Kruse said.

In the men’s eight-kilometer race, NKU’s Keith Knapp earned GLVC Freshman of the Year honors after posting an 11th-place finish with a time of 26:38. Knapp, a graduate of Lloyd High School, was the highest-placing freshman in the GLVC event and missed All-GLVC honors by just eight seconds.

Greaham Niemer took 18th place with a time of 26:51 for NKU, which placed fifth in the team standings. The fifth-place finish was NKU’s best since the 2000 season.

“I was pleased with how the guys competed, and it was a lot better than the past three years when we finished eighth each time,” Kruse said. “We’re getting better each race, and it was nice to see the kids working hard and being very competitive in this event.”

NKU’s Adam Stoppelwerth finished 27th with a time of 27:21, and Denny Kramer was 35th at 27:35.

Lewis won the men’s team title with a score of 55, followed by runner-up Southern Indiana with 57. Wisconsin-Parkside (76), SIUE (98) and NKU (124) rounded out the top five.

SOTA Choral Studies Director Dr. Randy Pennington resigned on Friday after a university investigation found he violated its sexual harassment policy. Four students and a faculty member brought concerns to the university last October, and Pennington was put on administrative leave pending a Title IX investigation on Oct. 23.